A Place of Comfort and Hope

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I’ve started a new blog, And Then Opens Possibility, a fresh new sanctuary I’m creating for quiet introspection. Come on over and follow me there if you’d like a place where you can look inside and outside yourself, a place where you see what’s possible from right here, right now, in the present moment, in all its richness and mystery.

My truth
speaks quietly.
It whispers.
Sometimes
it is hard to hear.
In silent moments
of stillness,
I feel its breath
upon me.
Its voice is clear:
Be who you are
completely.
Your light is for giving.

This poem is about what happens when I make time to just be, to just sit still with myself, to just let whatever comes up be what’s needed.

These quiet times with myself are not always magical. In fact, they can be downright difficult. I’m sometimes challenged by my thoughts running around like a kid on a sugar high, and just can’t shut them off. I’m sometimes overwhelmed with all that my life seems to demand of me. I’m sometimes gripped by fear of something, be it failure or success, knowing or not knowing, having or not having.

By coming back to the quiet space, time and time again, I’m sometimes…

The heart is quiet rather than noisy, intuitive rather than deductive, lives entirely in the present moment and is at every moment accepting of reality as it is. Moreover, the heart does not seek to distance itself from, or dominate anything or anyone by labeling. It accepts rather than rejects, finding similarity rather than alienation…

Touched and inspired today by Rolf Gates, author of Meditations on Intention and Being, and his Day 131 passage about courage:

“I love the true heart of humanity, and the most beautiful thing I have ever seen is the private courage it takes to be willing to look at oneself with an open heart and an open mind, seeking only to know what is true.”

As I wrote the quote in my journal, a prayer for today flowed from that place:

May I
by Vicki L. Flaherty

May my heart and mind be openMay I see what is trueMay I have clarity of purpose and seek the greater goodMay I be kind and open with others, and myselfMay I be intentional in my choices and actionsMay I feel alive and filled with joy and gratitudeMay I be courageous in facing my fearsMay I have the strength to live in integrity with my valuesMay I be filled with hopeMay I hold positive expectations and possibilityMay I move through my day with graceMay I bring a calming heart presence to wherever I am

“We start out thin and green, and each time the sky grows dark, we think we will break, but the downpour makes us grow, though never straight, always twisting for the light, and, strangely, the more we reach above the earth, the deeper something in us fingers its way down, and it is this – our unseen fingers reaching for the core – that keeps us from blowing away. Now there is no more running and very little swaying, and up till now, there have been many languages, though none that could be heard, just a creak at dawn and a moan at night, and sooner or later, we are brought down. It doesn’t matter how. We are undone. But stacked we burn, and here the poetry rises from us, leaving wisdom in the ash.”

My inspirational message of the day, from TUT’s Universe: While someone might choose to face lack, disease, and adversity in their life, it would never be their “destiny.” Just strategically placed hurdles that will sooner teach them to fly. NOW, spread your wings.

I’m delighted, just hours after my previous post to report that all IS clear! After a few stressful moments with two doctors and a technician surrounding the ultrasound machine, exploring like adventurers in a new land, I discovered that the 2mm lump is a benign cist! Nothing new in this territory! YAY!

Yes, it looks like this was a hurdle, strategically placed, to remind me of my power to fly!

* The photo was taken in New York City at a flower shop on the street, where dozens of magnificent bouquets lined the sidewalk. I picked it because it looks like it is about to take flight.

Yesterday, I was crystal clear what an important milestone this particular doctor visit was: my 5-year mammogram. I felt confident it would be clean, but not completely certain. I took time before my appointment to sit quietly with myself and to explore what I was feeling. I discovered I was not afraid. Mostly I was curious.

My radiologist was super – showed me the image and complimented my peck muscles. She said that because my muscle was so defined, it was easy for her to see that she got all of my breast in the image. I have to say it was an impressive solid bar of muscle – I’ll keep up with my daily 30 push ups! 🙂

I can’t even express how relieved I was when my oncologist told me the mammogram was clean. I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

You can imagine how the wind was knocked out of my sails when, during her examination of my breast, she felt a lump under my nipple. We agreed probably nothing to be concerned about, but best to be safe.

So I am once again waiting, and wondering. However, with all the training I’ve been doing – being present in the moment – I am not letting the story run away. I am present here and now, and know that whatever comes, it’s a journey that will enrich my life in ways I can’t even comprehend.

In fact, this event has already led to so many touching moments, including special prayers and intentions with family and friends. I feel I am being held in rich soil and opening to the sun.

“…No matter the shore before us, the swell and toss of the sea never ends. When brought to the crest of the swell, we can see as far as eternity and the soul has its perspective, but when in the belly of those waves, we are, each of us, for the moment, lost…the work of the inner pilgrim is to keep eternity in our heart and mind’s eye when dropped in the belly of our days.” ~Mark Nepo

“It seems that any moment of interest or pain or adversity can surprise us into the larger totality of life, breaking our current limits and allowing us the chance to redefine ourselves in regard to the larger sense that is upon us…We can never be prepared for everything. No one person can anticipate all of life. In face, over-preparation is yet another way to wall ourselves in from life. Rather, we can only prepare for how we might respond to the gift of surprise that often moves in on us faster than our reflex to resist.”

~Mark Nepo, The Gift of Surprise in The Book of Awakening

Inspired yet again by Mr. Nepo and ready to embrace the day and all its possibilities…